Work and feeling chronically stressed

woman with white face mask

The stress of the pandemic is wearing us out. The pressure that started ten months ago is now falling into the category of chronic. The effects are very palpable when I talk to people. Mental health in remote teams is one of the biggest challenges companies will deal with in 2021

The prolonged activation of stress that we have been experiencing is affecting most of the things we do.

Can you identify with these effects?

  • Physical tiredness and discomfort
  • Less creativity
  • It’s harder to focus and concentrate
  • More self-critical when making mistakes
  • Amplified feelings of blame and shame
  • Relationships and work feel more difficult than before
  • Lack of motivation at work
  • Problem-solving seems more challenging
  • Difficult people in your team feel unbearable
  • It’s difficult to unplug and relax on your time off

If you can agree that you are experiencing some or most of these difficulties, you are not alone. These are the effects of chronic stress that are interfering with your work and life. Looking at how stress is impacting your performance is critical. We can’t stop the pandemic but we can make changes to support ourselves better.

Remote work demands and ongoing changes at work can contribute big time to your stress. Employee burnout keeps growing as the pandemic continues. If your work is making things worse for you, pay attention and be proactive about stress reduction.

How to help yourself and others around you?

Assess your company and create more support for everyone in our challenging times.

Organizational change to support employee’s chronic stress

  1. Collect data from employees: Survey and ask about current personal and professional stress.
  2. Create focus groups: Ask people to get involved. Create small groups to open up about the mental and physical toll of the pandemic.
  3. Examine the company culture: Survey how employees feel about the company culture. Look at the impact that it has on reducing or increasing stress at this moment in time.
  4. Create a stress-reduction plan: Incorporate practices suggested by employees to improve company culture. Look at what other companies are doing to support employees’ wellbeing. Find simple methods that people can begin to target their stress.
  5. Bring compassion to work: Compassion and empathy strengthen teams and benefit company culture. Provide wellbeing training that focuses on self-compassion, emotional intelligence, and empathy.

One quote

Today I refuse to stress out about things that I can’t control. Instead, I will place my energy into the ones I have control of. I chose calm, compassion, patience, and kindness for me. I will share empathy, love, and generosity with others.

Tamy Khan

One question

What are your strategies to cope with chronic stress?

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